CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 49: THIS COLLABORATION IS IN THE BAG!

In a conference room within Jiangzhou High-Tech Entrepreneurial Park.

Duan Yiming had completely changed from his playful, nonchalant image in the school cafeteria. With a pair of glasses perched on his nose, he appeared refined, modest, and courteous.

Today, a major client had arrived at the company, a large business group headquartered in Guangdong Province. They wanted Duan Yiming’s company to develop a comprehensive set of applications for internal office work, supervision, and communication within the group.

This was indeed a major project, and of course, the fee was equally substantial.

It was precisely because of this that the major group had sent an assessment team of seven or eight people to Jiangzhou, mainly to evaluate the scale and strength of Duan Yiming’s company before deciding if the two companies would proceed with a partnership.

Throughout the morning, Duan Yiming accompanied them on a tour of the company and introduced the basic situation of the company, including its achievements since its establishment.

In fact, by this point, everything that needed understanding was pretty much understood, and what wasn’t understood couldn’t be grasped in just one morning.

As for whether the partnership would be achieved, Duan Yiming was not sure. This was beyond his control and he could only leave it to fate.

However, the necessary social etiquette had to be observed. It was almost noon, and preparing a lunch was appropriate—one couldn’t let guests leave on an empty stomach, as it contradicted Duan Yiming’s principles.

Thinking of this, he turned his head, smiled at everyone, and invited one of the middle-aged men,

"President Ma, it’s nearly noon now. If you’re not in a hurry, why not stay for a simple meal? Although the economy in Jiangzhou isn’t as advanced as in Guangdong, Jiangzhou cuisine is quite famous."

The middle-aged man was the leader of this inspection team, in his fifties, surnamed Ma, whom Duan Yiming always referred to as President Ma.

President Ma glanced at the others and hesitated, saying, "There’s no need to trouble you, is there?"

"No trouble at all, just a simple meal."

Duan Yiming waved his hand, smiling,

"We Jiangzhou natives are known for our hospitality. If we let guests leave on an empty stomach, where would we put our faces?"

Having been spoken to this way, President Ma couldn’t refuse and had to say,

"Then thank you for your hospitality, President Duan. Please allow my colleagues to dine here, but I won’t be joining."

Fearing that Duan Yiming might misunderstand, he added with a wry smile,

"Please don’t misunderstand, President Duan. It’s not that I don’t wish to eat, but recently I’ve had some digestion issues, with a bloated stomach, and really have no appetite."

"No appetite?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Yiming immediately thought of a place.

There, even someone with no appetite could become a voracious eater!

If President Ma ate happily there, maybe the chances of the two companies collaborating would greatly increase!

Thinking of this, Duan Yiming instantly became excited and quickly said,

"President Ma, if you have no appetite, I know just the place where the food is sure to open up your appetite. I guarantee that once you taste it, you’ll want a second bite and won’t be able to stop!"

"Oh? Does such a place exist in Jiangzhou?"

President Ma looked surprised.

It wasn’t his first time in Jiangzhou and he had tasted many delicious things before, knowing that Jiangzhou’s food is quite good.

However, a place like Duan Yiming described, so delicious that one couldn’t stop eating, he hadn’t been to one.

Not just in Jiangzhou, there are few such places in all of Huaxia.

"I knew you wouldn’t believe it, President Ma. As it’s about time, I might as well take you all there to eat."

Duan Yiming was confident, smiling as he said,

"I assure you, the food there will surely be an eye-opener for you and everyone else!"

"Really? Then we shall wait and see."

President Ma chuckled, giving Duan Yiming a meaningful look.

Others in the assessment team witnessed this and secretly felt sorry for Duan Yiming.

They knew President Ma too well.

Despite his affable demeanor, President Ma highly valued a person’s character.

If Duan Yiming had simply invited everyone to stay for lunch, President Ma might have appreciated his gesture, thinking Duan Yiming was warm-hearted and considerate of others.

What does this imply?

It implies that when developing software, Duan Yiming’s company would also consider the client, thinking of the client’s concerns, and provide the best service possible.

Perhaps the cooperation between the two companies would have been smoothly established.

But now, having said such imprudent words, if he got exposed by President Ma in person, the cooperation might really be in jeopardy...

Too young, way too young!

Though some felt regret, no one said anything.

Some people just won’t listen to advice; they only learn when they suffer losses and setbacks.

Duan Yiming evidently didn’t notice anything was amiss. He turned around to whisper a few words to his colleagues from the company, then turned back with a smile, leading President Ma and the group out the door and into the car.

After the car had driven a little while, President Ma and the others were surprised to discover that Duan Yiming was actually bringing them to Jiangzhou University.

What kind of delicious food could the school have that would leave you wanting more?

"President Ma, the place I mentioned is the student canteen at Jiangzhou University. There’s a shop there that sells steamed dumplings with soup and hot and sour soup, and it’s the best food I’ve ever had in my life."

Duan Yiming saw the surprised look on President Ma’s and others’ faces, and without intending to keep them in suspense, he said with a smile,

"Of course, you might still not believe me now, but don’t worry, once you’ve tasted it, you’ll know I wasn’t lying."

"Alright, let’s go have a look, then."

President Ma still couldn’t quite believe it, but since they were already here, it didn’t make sense not to check it out. So, he simply nodded and agreed.

The group chatted and laughed as they quickly reached the entrance of the second canteen. Even before they went inside, they were astonished by the bustling crowd within, rubbing shoulders and jostling.

Is this really a university canteen? There are just too many people!

Moreover, to buy food in this canteen, you actually have to queue for such a long time?

Such a large school, surely this can’t be the only canteen?

This is ridiculously exaggerated!

"President Ma, this way, please."

Duan Yiming saw their shocked expressions and couldn’t help feeling a bit smug — this was his alma mater, impressive isn’t it?

He gestured to President Ma and the group to enter the canteen and found an empty table to sit. Then he pointed at the long queue with a smile and explained,

"The school has six canteens spread out everywhere; this is just one of them. It didn’t use to have so many people, but ever since this dumpling shop opened, more and more students have come here to eat every day. You have to queue to buy food, and it’s only this one shop."

"Judging by this, the steamed dumplings with soup sold here indeed are not ordinary. I’m starting to believe what President Duan said before."

Seeing firsthand the bustling scene, President Ma also cracked a smile and said,

"But whether it’s really as President Duan said, making people unable to stop after just one bite, requires us to see for ourselves."

The other members of the delegation also laughed and echoed:

"Yeah, hearing isn’t believing; seeing is!"

"Looks like today we all have a chance to feast!"

"..."

"That’s simple."

Duan Yiming confidently smiled, gestured to a spot not far away, and soon, several people came quickly over carrying more than ten baskets of steaming steamed dumplings and hot and sour soup.

These people were arranged by Duan Yiming earlier, and the dumplings and hot and sour soup were swapped for placement ahead of time with "scalpers," considering they were serving important clients; they couldn’t just sit there waiting.

Before the food even reached the table, an enticing aroma made its way to their noses, causing President Ma’s party to be visibly moved, each looking like they couldn’t sit still.

As the steamed dumplings and hot and sour soup were placed in front of them, with paper-thin wrappers and rich soup inside the dumplings, and vibrant, aromatic hot and sour soup, each of them instantly had their appetites whetted, saliva flowing profusely.

Having seen such a scene before, Duan Yiming calmly smiled, gestured and said:

"President Ma, taste it!"

"Oh, okay!"

President Ma snapped out of it, responded, and picked up a pair of chopsticks, grabbing a dumpling and placing it in his bowl. After blowing on it a few times to cool it slightly, he took a small bite and gently sucked, causing him to freeze for a moment.

But soon, he came back to himself and started eating voraciously, ignoring everything else.

Seeing this, the rest of the delegation quickly started digging in too, and exclamations rang out:

"Wow! The soup in these dumplings is so fresh!"

"Ah, spicy! So spicy! It’s killing me! But this hot and sour soup is so delicious!"

"..."

Watching the delegation devour scrumptiously without a care for their image, Duan Yiming couldn’t help but laugh; this collaboration is in the bag!

At this moment, a colleague approached and whispered a few words in his ear.

Duan Yiming’s expression changed upon hearing:

"What? The mouth-watering chicken out at noon today?! Keep it for me, don’t bring it out now!

There’s a limit of 50 servings per meal!

Luckily I had someone from the company buy the dumplings in advance, snagged a serving, otherwise, I wouldn’t even know...

Missing it would be so regrettable!"